DEFENDANT’S
Professional Malpractice – Alleged failure of realtors to disclose flood-prone nature of commercial property – Flooding three and a-half years after purchase.

Volusia County, FL

This was a professional malpractice action brought against a commercial real estate broker, a realtor and a real estate agency. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants failed to disclose the flood-prone nature of commercial property purchased by the plaintiffs. The defendants argued that they had no knowledge of any flood problems on the property.

The plaintiffs contended that the defendants were familiar with the area, knew that there had been water accumulating on the nearby roads and failed to disclose these flood conditions to the plaintiffs. The warehouse property purchased by the plaintiffs, through the defendants, sustained damage in a flood approximately three and a-half years after the purchase.

The plaintiffs brought a separate pending action against the City of Orange City alleging negligent design of the storm water management system and the City of Orange City was listed as a Fabre defendant on the verdict form in this case. The defendants argued that the flood which damaged the plaintiffs’ property was an “act of God” which occurred during a tropical storm more than three years after the purchase. The defendants contended that they had no knowledge or information concerning a flood problem on the property.The jury found no negligence on the part of the defendants which was a legal cause of injury to the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs’ post-trial motion for new trial was recently denied.